A bell for Market Street

In this season of celebrations, an unusual one took place at Third and Market streets Wednesday, where Caltrans installed a new bell that was actually an old bell to commemorate something that happened 100 years ago, and is occurring again.

Beginning in 1906, the 17-1/2 inch diameter cast iron bells were installed along El Camino Real — “the King’s Highway” — from San Diego to Sonoma to commemorate the trail built in the 18th century to help protect Spanish land holdings in California and link the string of missions, pueblos and presidios.

The first bell was erected in 1906 in downtown Los Angeles by the federation, which continued to install them north and south. San Francisco got the 13th bell. By 1913, at least 450 bells had been installed. But over the years, most of them disappeared, falling prey to vandalism, theft and neglect. Efforts to restore them came and went, and in 1996, fewer than 100 remained.

But in 2002, Caltrans started a $1.4 million restoration effort paid for primarily with federal highway beautification funds. So far 555 bells have been installed. Caltrans recently received a second grant, which will cover the installation of bells from San Francisco to Sonoma.

The new mission bells are replicas of the original, cast in a foundry in Los Angeles County. But not the Market Street bell. Officials found one of the original bells, cleaned it up and delivered it to San Francisco for the ceremony.